We continue in our study of Proverbs the two aspects of change, one of which works quickly and dramatically and the other slowly and almost imperceptibly. Yesterday we compared sudden anger - which comes and goes like a peal of thunder - with constant nagging or 'dripping' and saw how the two have essentially the same destructive effect and are equally as evil. You might compare these to blitzkrieg and trench warfare, respectively. Satan can either attack us with suddenly, violent, devastating blows or he can gradually bleed us dry through relentless subtle pressure.

For those who suffer from anger bouts, having Yah'shua install a spiritual long delay fuse can be a matter of life and death. Yahweh sets the example in His own nature: "Yahweh is slow to anger" (Nah.1:3, NKJV) and imparts this quality of subduing impulsiveness to us though our yielding to Yah'shua (Jesus) His Son. Solomon therefore warns:

"He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly" (Prov.14:29, NKJV).

"There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known" (Matt.10:26, NKJV).

In the first, which is recorded in the New Testament, and sometimes called the Epiphany of Grace, He appeared gently and unobtrusively as a light appearing in the darkness, being born as a babe and growing to manhood in the same gradual way that we are and do. The kind of revelation that is imparted to man through this Ephiphany of Grace is gradual, not sudden - when Peter had his realisation as to the true identity of Yah'shua (Jesus) at Caesarea Philippi, it was not something that came in a blinding flash but something that came to him gradually so what when asked he could without hesitation declare that He was the long-awaited Messiah. The work of gradually redeeming and changing us is a fruit of the first epiphany. The exact opposite is Satan's gradual vampyrism of people, draining them drop by drop of their spiritual blood and life. This is the 'nagger', the drainer.

The second coming is called the Epiphany of Glory and this will be no gradual thing. It will be sudden and dramatic. People will either be dying or be raising from the dead. This will be no 'Jesus meek and mild' but the Conquering Lion of Judah. He will be destroying the wicked and transforming the godly in the twinking of an eye. This sudden change of the Redeemed is a fruit of the second epiphany. The exact opposite is Satan's sudden, violent destructiveness, the manifestation of his rage at knowing that he is defeated and that his time is short. This is the angry, contentious person.

These two epiphanies are the story of grace and glory, the twin arms of salvation - the gradual and the sudden deliverance of man. They are also mirrored by Satan in anger and dripping, the twin arms of enslavement - the gradual and the sudden violent methods of destruction.

When you are seeking deliverance from spiritual issues and are impatient for healing, remember that some kinds of deliverance are slow and gradual (by grace) and some are dramatic and sudden (by glory). Most are of the former kind which is why the Master of Grace had to come first by incarnation to teach and exemplify what we must expect to do for the most part. We all want short-cuts but those who blindly seek them often find they are cut short. Learn grace first and leave the glory to later. Character growth is gradual, only rebirth and resurrection are sudden. And whilst the New Testament speaks of the Second Coming, to give us hope, it is primarily about grace and the slow and gradual pace of sanctification. Be reconciled to that, accept that impetuousness is not Yahweh's way, and you will enjoy great shalom!